In 2003, there was an outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in Asian countries (The Journal of the Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases, Vol. 77, No. 5, pp. 303-309, ). However, the coronavirus which causes SARS is a previously unrecognized virus (SARS-associated coronavirus; hereinafter referred to as the “SARS virus”), and effective drugs for treating diseases caused by this virus have not yet been found.
Professor David D. Ho et al. of the Rockefeller University have reported their findings that T20 (Fuseon), a fusion inhibitor for HIV, is also effective against the SARS virus.
Nevertheless, various anti-HIV agents such as T20 have exhibited barely any efficacy against the SARS virus. Further, the finding that glycyrrhizin is effective against the SARS virus has been announced (THE LANCET, 361, pp. 2045-46, 2003), but it exhibits extremely limited potency.